#Biodiversity150 number 103 of 150 Calliope Hummingbird

103/150: National Hummingbird Day – The Calliope Hummingbird

Animalia: Chordata: Aves: Apodiformes: Trochilidae: Selasphorus: Selasphorus calliope (Gould, 1847)

The first Saturday in September is being celebrated as National Hummingbird Day. Read on to learn more about the Calliope hummingbird. These birds are spunky, territorial, and have the nerve to chase away hawks while resembling the size of a ping pong ball! These little troopers are known as the smallest migrators traversing over 8,000 km of the Rocky Mountains, Pacific Coast and Mexico. These beautiful birds are marked with green feathers on their backs, and the males display a deep magenta on their throats. It makes sense that they were named after the Greek muse Calliope, known for eloquence and epic poetry and had inspired Homer’s famous Illiad. Like other hummingbirds they feed on the nectar of flowers but also take part in “hawking”, where they snatch insects in midair. They lay about two eggs per nesting and their populations are quite abundant, but their populations have had a slight decline of 9% since 1970 because of human activity. Hopefully their numbers stay stable and we keep them off the endangered list! #Canada150 #Biodiversity150

Adult Calliope Hummingbird (Selasphorus calliope) perched upon a branch. Photo Credit: Dan Pancamo goo.gl/cU8QDE
Calliope Hummingbird in midflight with largely displayed magenta colouring. Photo Credit: Alan Schmierer goo.gl/jjhGVU

Here’s the barcode sequence information for this species:

Process ID: KKBNA959-05

nucleotide sequence

CCTATACCTAATCTTTGGAGCATGAGCTGGAATAGTTGGAACCTCCCTAAGCCTGCTAATCCGAGCAGAACTCGGCCAGCCAGGCACCCTGCTAGGGGACGATCAGATTTACAATGTGATCGTCACTGCCCATGCCTTCGTAATAATCTTCTTCATAGTCATACCAATTATAATCGGAGGCTTTGGAAACTGATTAATTCCCCTCATAATTGGGGCCCCCGATATAGCATTCCCACGTATAAATAACATAAGCTTCTGACTCCTACCACCGTCATTCCTCCTACTCCTCGCTTCCTCTACCGTAGAAGCAGGCGCAGGTACAGGATGAACCGTATACCCCCCTCTAGCCGGCAATCTAGCCCACGCAGGAGCATCAGTAGACCTAGCCATCTTCTCCCTACACCTATCGGGTATCTCATCAATCCTAGGGGCAATTAACTTCATTACCACCGCGATCAATATAAAACCACCCGCCCTATCACAATACCAAACCCCCCTATTCGTCTGATCTGTCCTTATTACTGCCGTCCTACTTCTTCTCTCACTCCCAGTACTCGCCGCCGGAATCACCATACTACTTACAGACCGAAACCTAAACACCACATTTTTCGACCCCGCTGGAGGAGGAGACCCCATCCTTTACCAACACTTATTTTGATTCTTTGGNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

amino acid sequence

LYLIFGAWAGMVGTSLSLLIRAELGQPGTLLGDDQIYNVIVTAHAFVMIFFMVMPIMIGGFGNWLIPLMIGAPDMAFPRMNNMSFWLLPPSFLLLLASSTVEAGAGTGWTVYPPLAGNLAHAGASVDLAIFSLHLSGISSILGAINFITTAINMKPPALSQYQTPLFVWSVLITAVLLLLSLPVLAAGITMLLTDRNLNTTFFDPAGGGDPILYQHLFWFFX———

Visual representation of DNA barcode sequence for Calliope Hummingbird

Learn more about it’s BIN (Barcode Index Number): BOLD:ABY6854